In 2024, more than 9 lakh complaints were reported in cybercrime in just 4 months. Most of these complaints were related to investment or financial scams. One of those is the fraud related to the famous HIBOX Scam which started from YouTube. Now along with this, there are many investment scams on YouTube.
Many fake fininfluencers after gaining a good subscriber count misguide and induce their audience by showing fake PnLs. They then make them download fake trading apps that lead to the loss of hard-earned money of people who blindly follow them.
Whoever begins this, the objective of all these scams is the same, to show high returns and easy money and then vanish with their capital.
Coming back to HIBOX Scam, many influencers including Elvish Yadav, Fukra Insaan, and Bharti Singh promoted this app on their YouTube showcasing it as a legitimate trading app. That attracted many investors, who then invested a lot of money with the expectation to earn high profits.
The platform initially delivered high returns, encouraging more people to invest. Gradually after a few months, HIBOX started delaying payments, citing various issues such as technical glitches, legal troubles, and GST complications.
As a result, with complaints from a large number of Indians, the investigation revealed that this scam has resulted in a fraud of more than ₹500 crores.
Here is when these promotions on YouTube lead to investment scams on YouTube. Since most people use YouTube, scammers easily get their targets.
How Do Investment Scams on YouTube Occur?
YouTube allows its users to publish long-form content, YouTube Shorts, and Ads. Now one way or the scammers target people and eventually can meet their evil objective.
- Sponsored Ads and Videos: Some scammers pay for ads on YouTube to make them look legitimate in the videos. These ads generally use credible sources and attract viewers to click links directing them to scam websites or communication groups on WhatsApp or Telegram.
- Fake Channels and Impersonation: Scammers create fake channels and upload content imitating celebrities and brands. In simple terms, they induce their viewers to invest in their recommended schemes.
- Live Streams and Giveaways: Steal live streaming content from famous influencers and promise giveaways of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. For participation in giveaways, viewers are instructed to send a small amount of cryptocurrency to some unknown account.
How do I Report a YouTube scam?
First, it is always important to protect yourself from falling into the trap of such scams. However, in case, you end up losing your capital in one or the other such scams, then it is important to know the steps of how to report investment scams in India.
Here are a few ways through which you can raise your concern.
- Report to local police station: Consider filing a First Information Report (FIR) with your local police station for any serious case with significant losses.
- File a Complaint in Cyber Crime: One can report scams on YouTube at the cybercrime portal by the Ministry of Home Affairs to report such scams. Go to the Cyber Crime portal to file an online complaint or contact at helpline number 1903 directly.
- National Consumer Helpline: If you have lost money in a fraudulent transaction, you can file a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline at consumerhelpline.gov.in or call their toll-free number 1800-11-4000.
- Reserve Bank of India – Digital Payment Fraud: Report the scam at RBI’s Sachet portalsachet.rbi.org.in for the scams involving financial fraud through online payments or bank transactions.
- Lodge a Complaint in SCORES: In case, any registered entity like a listed company, Research Analyst, Investment Advisors, or Stockbroker are involved in fraudulent activities, then you can file a complaint against them on the SCORES portal by SEBI.
Conclusion
In conclusion, different types of Investment scams are commonly increasing on YouTube as fraudsters take advantage of the platform’s popularity and trustworthiness. As digital technology is evolving so do the techniques used by scammers. Education and awareness are the best defense against falling victim to such schemes.
In case you have also fallen victim to any such scam and looking for any help or assistance on how to file your complaint, please feel free to reach out to us on our website. Here we will provide you with assistance to report your complaints to the concerned authorities.
